since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
ELECTRIC Vehicle (EV) sports cars are no longer available only as high-end or ultra-premium range models if the Chinese automotive manufacturers could help it. As a global leading force in producing EVs, several automotive brands in China are already introducing mouth-watering sports cars without costing the earth.
The GWM ORA 07 is surely the first of many to come to Malaysia from China that are very affordable options to the Continental alternatives. And to give us an idea of what to expect of these Chinese-made EV sports cars, we were invited to check out the ORA07 at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) recently.
This is the second EV sports car we had a drive impression of at SIC, having had a go at the Audi e-Tron late last year. However, it wouldn’t be fair to compare them as the German carmaker has many years of producing cars for motor sports to give it a firm grounding for coming up with exciting to drive sports cars, electric or otherwise, for the highway.
Nevertheless, the ORA 07 would still hold its ground reasonably well for a sports car from a manufacturer that is on a steep learning curve in producing such exciting vehicles. The ORA 07 is not short of visual appeal and might strike many on its somewhat familiar resemblance to cars carrying the Porsche marque.
That is because the ORA 07 body design has indirect Porsche input as Emanual Delta, who used to work in the Porsche car design department, is now with GWM ORA. This similarity in body styling was earlier noted in the ORA 03 and we could expect future ORA car models to bear this mild resemblance.
Beneath that eye-catching body lies some strong fundamentals; this includes the cage-style high-strength body with 77.6 per cent high strength materials comprising 30.6 per cent high-strength steel, 29.4 per cent ultra high-strength steel and 17.6 per cent hot forming steel.
ORA says the 07’s top surrounding pillar – which runs from the A-pillar in front to the C-pillar at the rear – could withstand more than five times the vehicle weight pressure and 9.5 tonnes static crash pressure. With that, it’s assuring to know that the vehicle occupants could be safely cocooned in an adverse situation.
GWM Malaysia has introduced two 07 variants, one being the Long Range Ultra and the other is the Performance model. As the name suggests, one gains traction with customers on its optimum range on a full charge while the other provides outright performance with a lower electric range.
This is made possible with the Long Range Ultra 07 featuring one electric motor (permanent magnet synchronous motor) to power the front wheels. This electric motor has a respectable power output of 150kW (204PS) and 340Nm. The Performance 07 comes with two electric motors – one front and one rear - to give it an all-wheel drive road traction. As for power rating, you merely times two, leading to 300kW (408PS) and 680Nm.
The difference in performance is seen more in the 0-100km/h acceleration times with the Ultra covering that sprint in 7.9 seconds and the Performance being the faster EV sports car with 4.3 seconds, running in Sports plus mode and using Launch Control. In top speed, the former is good for 170km/h while the latter is a bit faster at 180km/h.
With a single electric motor, the Ultra could cover 640km on a full charge while the double electric motor Performance has a respectable range of 550km. Going by our experience in driving EVs on long distance runs, both should cover the Klang Valley-Penang run without having to stop and recharge. In any case, there are sufficient recharging stations along the way in Ipoh and Juru if one wish to stop for a bite, and more are coming up by the day.
The Ultra 07 comes with 18-inch alloy wheels fitted with Hankook Ventus 235/50 R18 and the Performance has 19-inch wheels with 235/45 R19 Michelin Pilot Sport EV. To give the Performance a sporty touch, the brake callipers are red while those for the Ultra are in silver.
Compared to the Audi e-tron, the ORA 07 is a more compact sports car. Overall vehicle length is 4871mm (against 4989mm), overall width is 1862mm (1964mm) and overall height 1500m (1414mm). It has a pretty long wheelbase of 2870mm (2900mm) that gives the four-door EV sports car good interior room and reasonably spacious boot of 333 litres.
Stepping inside the ORA 07, one is drawn more to its clean and minimalist styling in the clean dashboard layout. The central console with a bottom tray towards the front is cleanly designed with three rotary buttons – fan speed, aircond temperature and drive modes – and five toggle switches for car hifi, hazard warning, aircond and demist for front and rear screens.
There is a single cupholder lower down the centre console and a slot for 50W wireless charging for the handphone. The Performance model has a red button on the steering wheel to select Sports mode and activate Launch Control. Actually, there are five driving modes for this model – Normal, Well Being, Individual, Eco and Sport plus or Sport with Turbo Mode (otherwise known as Launch Control).
The seats are wrapped in synthetic leather along with the steering wheel. The driver and front occupant enjoy ventilation and massage features, with six-way electronic seat adjustment for the driver and four-way adjustment for the front passenger. The driver has a 10.25-inch instrument panel and HUD (head up device). A 12.3-inch multi-info touchscreen is located in the central dashboard area.
Sepang International Circuit Drive
The SIC drive experience was conducted only with the ORA 07 Performance, There were four sessions in the morning with a brake and steer routine, 0-100km/h acceleration, slalom drive and an autonomous reverse parking experience.
The first routine was done at 80km/h during which we were to brake hard and steer to feature its anti-lock braking performance. That was easily done for the modest speed involved. For the 0-100km.h acceleration runs, a timer was fitted to our car to record our performance, We did three runs using the Sports plus Turbo (Launch Control) mode.
Using the Launch Control requires left foot braking, that is, using our left foot to press down on the brake pedal while we floored the accelerator pedal. As this is an electric car, there were no high engine revs when we did that. There was merely a note on the instrument panel telling us that Launch Control was activated and we were good to go.
EVs are all about strong initial torque and with 680Nm being unleashed when we lift our foot off the accelerator pedal, we could feel the strong g-force coming in as the ORA 07 picked up the pace quickly from standstill. We clocked 4.5 seconds on the first try and a consistent 4.4 for the subsequent two, just a wee shade shy of the manufacturer’s claim of 4.3 seconds.
We were somewhat ambitious for the slalom section, which we were advised to drive at a constant 60km/h. As we felt it was somewhat too slow, we thought doing this section at 80km/h might show more of the ORA 07’s dynamic qualities. The ORA 07 comes with a MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link rear.
However, a higher speed requires quicker reflexes and that caught us out as the car picked up more speed than we wanted (above 90kmh at one point). And we knocking the cones all over about two-thirds of the way through. We sobered down for the return drive and had a less dramatic session.
We sat out for the autonomous reverse parking session but noted that the ORA 07 did what it was programmed to do without knocking over any cones when parallel parking and getting out again.
The fun part of the ORA 07 SIC track experience was the Timed Attack, the last event for the day. The top three drivers from the media that could cover the 5.54km circuit in the fastest were awarded prizes. However, we discovered it was not as much fun as we would have liked.
Fine, we were supposed to brake hard at set points before each difficult corner but we would prefer push it a bit further to explore the car’s limits. But that was quite impossible with a GWM company guide telling at us to hit the brakes harder than we would have wanted and that disrupted our rhythm. We gave up trying for a quick time.
As we have come to expect of all-wheel drive vehicles (including one that we owned not too long ago), the understeer is more pronounced as the AWD apportions torque according to the dynamic forces exerted on the respective wheels of the car. Despite the slower drive, we could feel the prominent understeer as the ORA 07 kept wanting to go straight.
Also as expected, with the heavy battery beneath the floorboard leading to a lower centre of gravity for the sports car, the ORA 07’s body didn’t lean too much when taking a tight corner. The ground clearance is quite low at 125mm.
However, the higher weight of the battery led to a greater vehicle mass and this had a say on the car’s forward momentum. Coupled with the AWD characteristics, the understeer could be pretty pronounced if the car is pushed hard into a corner. As we were following ‘orders’ to brake hard at all the ‘right places’, we didn’t veer off the tarmac as we had done so with the Audi e-tron.
Nevertheless, the ORA 07 displayed a fair capacity for some hard driving although the hot weather that day heated up the track surface, leading to some overheating problems. Apparently, the first batch of car drivers encountered brake fade that dampened the enthusiasm for fast corner taking.
In passive and safety features, the ORA 07 comes fully packed with all the goodies. We learnt a new thing too. There was once when we couldn’t engage Reverse when the front wheels were not pointing straight. Once we turned the front wheels to the straight ahead position, Reverse was selected.
At RM190,500 on the road without insurance, the ORA 07 Performance is an affordable electric sports car for those who like fast driving in a suitably profiled vehicle. And if you prefer some reasonable quick driving with a higher mileage range, the Long Range Ultra is an attractive proposition at RM170,500.
For these prices, you enjoy eight years or 180,000km warranty for the power battery, electric motor and electric motor control unit. The full vehicle warranty, except for wear and tear items like tyres, is six years or 150,000km. GWM Malaysia also offers a one-to-one battery pack replacement and 12 years body warranty.
